Reuben sandwich

Real sauerkraut can make or break your Reuben sandwich.

Though you might think that the mountain of corned beef is the star of the classic Reuben sandwich, I would beg to differ. Any time proper sauerkraut shows up, it steals the spotlight. (See The Kraut King story.) Cover everything with melted Swiss cheese and slap it all in some rye bread and you’ve got something to really liven up your tastebuds.

Forget Thousand Island dressing. This is the sauce you need for a great Reuben sandwich.

The last element of the Reuben sandwich is Thousand Island dressing, named after the gorgeous area shared between Canada and the United States. This retro sauce is little more than a sweet, ketchupy mayonnaise. But, I thought, given the bold flavours already present in this sandwich, wouldn’t it be good with a bit of heat and a few twists? Being canadian, what if I took the flavours of my nation’s beloved Caesar cocktail? You then have the sour tang and crunch of the sauerkraut, the fat and salt of the beef, the creaminess of the melted Swiss cheese, the bracing flavour and chew of the rye bread, and, finally, a creamy, sweet, spicy, umami bomb of a sauce gushing out of every crevice.